Trust and local and central government - do local communities feel involved anymore?

The question of what central and local government should do to win back the trust of local communities is the theme of a joint LSE-Local Government Association debate on Tuesday 7 September.

Former government advisor Geoff Mulgan and LSE Director Howard Davies are the keynote speakers at this half-day event, which is the culmination of a series of debates hosted by the LGA during 2004.

The event begins with a speech at 4pm by former government advisor Geoff Mulgan, now director of the Institute of Community Studies and an associate professor at LSE. LGA chair Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart will then address the audience - around 250 central and local government staff, policymakers and academics - before three parallel discussion sessions, from 5 until around 6.30pm:

Dr Sarabajaya Kumar, lecturer in social policy, LSE, Cllr Paul Brickell, London Borough of Newham, and Cllr Chloe Lambert, group leader, Independent Group, consider the current state of local communities and the idea of civil society.

Tony Travers, director, Greater London Group, Simon Milton, leader of Westminster Council, and Ben Page, MORI, will ask if the drive for savings in public service costs is compatible with improving public trust

Liz Richardson, of LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, Councillor Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport Council, and Professor Ian Gordon, professor of human geography, will focus on how to create better neighbourhoods.

The concluding speech at 6.45pm by LSE Director Howard Davies is entitled: Can local government survive five more years of New Labour? He considers what has happened to Labour's ambitions for local government, and questions whether we can we expect more centralisation of power in a third term.

He said: 'The government have launched their own review of local government, so now is the time to assess what Labour has done to and for local councils, and what the future holds.'

The final lecture at 6.45pm is free and open to the public. For more details, click here|.

Press cuttings

Independent (13 Sep 04)Howard Davies: Can local government survive a third Labour term?
From a speech by the director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, at the LSE-Local Government Association debate.

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